Ironing cord retractor



Feb. 22, 1949. E, J, BR`.ER ETAL 2,462,464

V IRoNING CORD RETRAGTOR Filed March 23, 1946 /f 6, ff

Patented Feb. 22, 1949 unirsi) srArss rrENT. OFFICE lIRONING CORD RETRACTOR Ernest J. Briar, Los Angeles, and Walter G. McCue, Downey, Calif.

Application March `23, 1946, Serial N o. 656,657

1 Claim. i

This invention relates to an ironing cord retractor. l

AnY object of the invention is to provide a device attachableto` any conventional form of ironing board consisting of' a readily bendable, but normany-upright support having at its upper end a clamping or` engagingv means for clamping upon and supporting the cord of the iron whereby durlngfrnovementsofthe-iron in the course of ironing on the'boardthe upright support may readily bend to accommodate.suchA .movements but will normally return to its upright position and thus hold thecord well above the clothes that are being ironed. In this manner, the cord is conveniently held and maintained against twisting and is not permitted to slide upon or be dragged acrossth'e ironed surface. As the cord is held well? aboyefthe `ironing vboard it does not interfere with movements oi the Airon in the course of ironing,

Another object. o1. the. invention .is to provide an; ironing .cordretractor attachable to any conventional collapsible type of ironing. board adaptn ed to be` swung intoa collapsed position such as in an ironinguboardwcloset orcabinet and which has a readily bendableusupport which is normally in an upright position but which may be swung downwardly adjacent the board so as not to interfere with its being collapsed or put away in its cabinet.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide an ironing cord retractor consisting of a base attachable to an ironing board and which has an upstanding flange the edges of which are notched and to provide a base for a readily bendn able support that is adjustably mounted on the flange and is adapted to be locked against movement relatively thereto to hold the support optionally in an upright position or in a position wherein it is pressed resiliently against the surface of the ironing board so that it cannot be readily displaced or rattle in the course of returning the board to its cabinet.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specically pointed out in the appended claim, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of an ironing board illustrating the ironing cord vretractor embodying the present invention as hav ing been applied thereto;

Fig. 21s a view taken substantially in the direc- 2 I tion of the arrow 2upon Fig. Il, illustrating the ironing cord retractor in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a partial view in vertical section'taken substantially upon the line 3-3 upon Fig. .2; and

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, buti-llustrating the ironing cordretractor in its collapsed position.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, IB indicates" a conventional ironing board of the type that is pivotally mounted adjacent its rear edge for swinging movement into an ironing board closet or cabinet, not shown. I 2 indicates a conventionaliron such as an electric iron that may be supplied,

with electric current through a cordi I3. IfV the iron i2 is a gas iron,|3 indicates a flexible tube which supplies the gas tothe iron l The ironing vcord retractor embodying the present invention comprises a suitablebase generally indicated at I which consists of an upper body portion or plate i5` applicableV to the top-surface of the ironing board adjacentthe remote corner of the rear edge II. Integral-with this plate or body portion is a downwardly extending flange I6. These portions are apertured to receive fas.- teners such as attaching screws I'l. The base Ilihas an upstanding flange I8 in the top edge of which there is disposed a notch I9 and in the side edge of which there is disposed a second notch 2S. A readily bendable support 2| is provided consisting of a lower portion 22 formed of a readily bendable spring the convolutions of which are i preferably, but not necessarily, contiguous. The

lower end of this spring is anchored in any suitable manner such as indicated at 23 to the horizontal portion 24 of an angular base 25 for the support. The angular base has an upright portion or llange 26 disposed adjacent the flange I8. A rivet or the equivalent indicated at 2l is rigidly fastened to the ange I8 and extends through an elongated slot 28 in the ange 26.

The upper portion of the support 2| may be provided by a single strand of wire indicated at 29 the top of which is given several turns to provide two closely adjacent convolutions 30 and 3| between which the cord I3 may be positioned. These convolutions serve to releasably clamp the cord at the top of the support.

In the normal position of the ironing cord retractor the horizontal portion 24 of the base 25 of the support lits within the upper notch I9 of the flange I8 and thus holds the supports 2| in an upright position. The spring 22 however, permits the support to be readily bent from the upright position as indicated by dotted lines on Fig. 1. Consequently in manipulating the iron I2 the cord I3 on being pulled merely causes the support to be bent into one of the dotted line positions shown in Fig. 1. On reversely moving the iron the resiliency of the spring 22 tends to return the support to its upright position thus taking up automatically any slack in the cord I3 between the support and the iron. Consequently, the cord does not interfere with reverse movements of the iron and `isheld well above the clothes being ironed. crinkling ofthe cord I3 are thus eliminated.

VVWhen the ironing is completed the cord I3 may be detached from between the convolutions 3i?y and SVI andthe support 2I bodily lifted. This causes the base 25 to slide upwardly relatively to the flange` |18 such movement being accommodated by the rivet 21 passing downwardly through the slotY 28. yWhen the horizontal portion 24 has thus cleared notch I9 the base 25 may pivot relatively to flange I8 about the rivet 21 as a center and swung vinto a position as shown in Fig. 4. It will be noted that the notch 29 is more than 90 from notch I9 and on positioning the portion 24 in the notch 20 the longitudinal axis of the supportas determined by the bas-e 25 would extend downwardly through the ironing board I0. However, the spring 22 flexes slightly as indicated in Fig. 4, and causes the support to assume a slightly bent position when its base 25 is locked in the notch 20. This serves to hold the support firmly pressed ragainst the top surface of the ironing board I0, and on storing the ironing board such as by swinging it upwardly into its cabinet the ironing cord retractor does not interfere with such collapsing movement and does not rattle due to the continual pressure exerted against the top surface of the'ironing board as indicated in Fig 4.

From the above-described construction it will be appreciated that an ironing cord retractor has been provided which serves to automatically take up slack in the ironing cord and to support the cord above the ironed surface. Furthermore, the ironing cord-'retractor may be collapsed into a. position shown in Fig 4, so that it Will not inter- Consequently dangers of twisting or fere with storing of the ironing board nor obobjectionably rattle during movements of the board. The exing or" the spring 22 in the position shown in Fig. 4 causes the base 25 to remain locked in place on the flange I8 until it is intentionally desired to restore the support to its upright position.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claim.

We claim:

' An ironing cord retractor comprising a bracket attachable to an ironing board, said bracket having an upstanding side in the top of which there is a notch, a resilient flexible support for an ironing cord, said support having an angular base the side of which has a limited slidable connection with said upstanding side on the bracket, and the top of which is receivable in said notch to releasably lock the support in upstanding position, said upstanding side having a second notch on its side edge disposed at more than from the rst mentioned notch and in which the top of the angular base is also receivable whereby the support may also be locked in a position wherein it is flexed and pressed against the top of the ironing board.

ERNEST J. BRIER. W. G. MCCUE.

REFERENCES CITED The foilowing references are of record in the flle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,157,418 Polson et al Oct. 19, 1915 1,172,134 Harold Feb. 15, 1916 1,476,395 Davis Dec. 4, 1923 1,513,258 Manz Oct. 28, 1924 1,530,529 Weber Mar. 24, 1925 1,566,655 David Dec. 22, 1925 1,776,743 Ament Sept. 23, 1930 1,999,089 Dowden Apr. 23, 1935 2,125,188 Lieberman July 26, 1938 

